The 2nd Polish Corps (), 1943–1947, was a major tactical and operational unit of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. It was commanded by Lieutenant General Władysław Anders and fought with distinction in the Italian Campaign, in particular at the Battle of Monte Cassino. By the end of 1945, the corps had grown to well over 100,000 soldiers.
History Victims of Soviet deportations from occupied Poland in 1939–40 had been processed by the NKVD and sent to prison or exile in Siberia.Davies, p. 448 The Nazi-Soviet pact of August 1939RobertsVincent effectively ended on 22 June 1941 when the German Wehrmacht invaded the USSR.Davies, p. 444, 453 The release of many thousands of former citizens of Poland (including Ukrainians and Belarusians) from the Soviet Gulags, following the signing of the Polish-Russian Military Agreement on 14 August 1941, allowed for the creation of a Polish Army on Soviet soil.Stefancic, p. 157, 159Davies, p. 272 Its first commander, General Michał Tokarzewski, began the task of forming this army in the Soviet village of Totskoye on 17 August. The commander ultimately chosen by Władysław Sikorski to lead the new army, Lieutenant General Władysław Anders, had just been released from the Lubyanka prison in Moscow, on 4 August, and did not issue his first orders or announce his appointment as commander until 22 August.
This army grew over the following two years and provided the bulk of the units and troops of the Polish II Corps.
The Polish II Corps was created in 1943 from various units fighting alongside the Allies in all theatres of war. The 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division was formed in the Middle East from smaller Polish units fighting in Egypt and Tobruk, as well as the Polish Army in the East that was evacuated from the Soviet Union through the Persian Corridor. Its creation was based on the British Allied Forces Act 1940, which allowed the Allied units of the exiled government of Poland to be grouped in one theatre of war. However, the British High Command never agreed to incorporate the exiled Polish Air Force into the Corps.
In February 1944, the Polish II Corps was transferred from Egypt to Italy, where it became an independent part of the British Eighth Army, under Lieutenant-General Sir Oliver Leese.
In May 1944, the Polish II Corps numbered about 50,000 soldiers and during 1944–45, it fought with distinction in the Italian campaign. During the fourth and final Battle of Monte Cassino, it suffered heavy losses (in the final stage of the Battle, even the support units were mobilised and used in combat) and it was suggested to General Anders that he withdraw his units. However, since the Soviet Union broke off diplomatic relations with the Polish government and no Poles were allowed out of the USSR, Anders believed that the only source of recruits lay ahead – in German POW camps and concentration camps. During the fighting in Italy in June 1944, the II corps was considered to be the most determined formation in the entire British 8th Army as the British historian H.P. Willmott wrote: "in the Allied camp the Poles were probably unequalled in their willingness and determination to get to close quarters with the enemy". On 12 June 1944, the Polish 3rd Carpathian Division had replaced the 4th Indian Division along the Penne-Atri-Pineto line. The II corps was assigned to lead the Allied advance along the Adriatic Sea and by 20 June 1944 the Poles had reached Fermo and were closing in on Ancona. After advancing 60 miles over a four day period, the II corps was halted by a German counterattack which drove the Poles back to the Chienti river. The Corps went on to fight at the Battle of Ancona during Operation Olive (the fighting on the Gothic Line in September 1944), and the Battle of Bologna during the final offensive in Italy in March 1945.
By 1945, new units were added, composed mainly of freed POWs and Poles forcibly conscripted into the Wehrmacht. This increased the Corps' strength to around 75,000 men, approximately 20,000 of whom were transferred to other Polish units fighting in the West. After the war, the divisions of the Corps were used in Italy until 1946, when they were transported to Britain and demobilised. The total establishment of the Polish II Corps in 1946 was 103,000.
The majority of soldiers remained in exile and settled in Britain, although some elected to settle in other countries such as Canada or Australia, either obtaining immigration visas there or relying on previous ties for repatriation.
The Corps had a consistently high fighting reputation and was well-regarded by the American and Commonwealth troops with whom they fought.
Those that settled in Britain were transported from many ports, including Toulon, France.
Composition In May 1945, the Corps consisted of 55,780 men, one bear and approximately 1,500 women in auxiliary services. Their bear mascot, named Wojtek, was officially entered onto the unit roll as a private soldier, subsequently being promoted to corporal. The majority of the Corps were Polish citizens who had been deported by the NKVD to the Soviet Gulags during the Soviet Union's annexation of Eastern Poland (Kresy Wschodnie) in 1939. Following Operation Barbarossa and the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement, many of them were released and allowed to join the Polish Armed Forces in the East being formed in Southern Russia and Kazakhstan. For political reasons, the Soviet Union soon withdrew support for the creation of a Polish Army on its territory and reduced the supply rate, which resulted in General Władysław Anders withdrawing his troops to British-held Persia and Iraq. From there, they were moved to British-controlled Palestine, where they joined forces with the 3rd Carpathian Division, which was composed mainly of Polish soldiers who had managed to escape to French Lebanon through Romania and Hungary after the defeat of Poland in 1939.
The main bulk of the soldiers were from the eastern voivodeships of pre-war Poland. Although the majority were ethnic Poles, there were also other nationalities, including Jews, Belarusians and Ukrainians. After being relocated to Palestine, many Jewish soldiers deserted and fled into the countryside. However, Menachem Begin – the future Prime Minister of Israel and at the time a II Corps soldier – though urged by his friends to desert, refused to remove his uniform until he had been officially discharged.Sources differ on how Begin left Anders' Army. Many indicate that he was discharged, e.g.: Eitan Haber (1979). Menachem Begin: The Legend and the Man. Dell Publishing Company. p. 136. . "A while later Anders's Chief of Staff, General Ukolitzky, did agree to the release of six Jewish soldiers to go to the United States on a campaign to get the Jewish community to help the remnants of European Jewry. The Chief of Staff, who was well acquainted with Dr. Kahan, invited him to his office for a drink. There were a number of senior officers present, and Kahan realized that this was a farewell party for Ukolitzky. 'I'm leaving here on a mission, and my colleagues are throwing a party but the last document I signed was an approval of release for Menahem Begin.'" Bernard Reich (1990) Political Leaders of the Contemporary Middle East and North Africa Greenwood Publishing Group. . p. 72. "In 1942 he arrived in Palestine as a soldier in General Anders's (Polish) army. Begin was discharged from the army in December 1943." Harry Hurwitz (2004). Begin: His Life, Words and Deeds. Gefen Publishing House. . p. 9. "His friends urged him to desert the Anders Army, but he refused to do any such dishonourable thing and waited until, as a result of negotiations, he was discharged and permitted to enter Eretz Israel, then under British mandatory rule". "Biography – White Nights" . Menachem Begin Heritage Center. Retrieved 16 January 2012. "Many of the new recruits deserted the army upon their arrival, but Begin decidedly refused to follow suit. 'I swore allegiance to the Polish army – I will not desert,' he resolutely told his friends when he was reunited with them on Jewish soil. Begin served in the Polish army for about a year and a half... At the initiative of Aryeh Ben-Eliezer and with the help of Mark Kahan, negotiations began with the Polish army regarding the release of five Jewish soldiers from the army, including Begin, in return for which the members of the IZL delegation would lobby in Washington for the Polish forces. The negotiations lasted many weeks until they finally met with success: The Polish commander announced the release of four of the soldiers. Fortunately, Begin was among them." Others give differing views, e.g.: Amos Perlmutter (1987). The Life and Times of Menachem Begin Doubleday. . p. 134. "In the Ben Eliezer-Mark Kahan version, Begin received a complete, honorable release from the Anders Army. The truth is that he only received a one-year leave of absence, a kind of extended furlough, in order to enable him to join an Anders Army Jewish delegation which would go to the United States seeking help for the Polish government-in-exile. The delegation never materialized, mainly due to British opposition. Begin, however, never received an order to return to the ranks of the Army."
The armament was as follows: 248 pieces of artillery 288 anti-tank guns 234 anti-aircraft guns 264 tanks 1,241 APCs 440 armoured cars 12,064 cars, Bren carriers and trucks 1 Syrian brown bear Wojtek (soldier bear)
Losses During the Italian Campaign, the Polish II Corps lost 11,379 men. Among them were 2,301 killed in action, 8,543 wounded in action and 535 missing in action.
Of the 2,301 killed, 1,079 died during the Battle of Monte Cassino and are interred at the Monte Cassino Polish war cemetery, several hundred meters from the rebuilt abbey.
Order of battle Corps Organisation April 1944
Source: HQ 2 Polish Corps 2 Armoured Brigade AGPA – Army Group of Polish Artillery 3 Carpathian Division 12 Podolski Recce Regt. (Dismounted) 1 Carpathian Rifle Brigade 1,2,3 Battalions 2 Squadron 7 Armoured Regiment 2 Carpathian Rifles Brigade 4,5,6 Battalions 5 Kresowa Division 5 Wilenska Infantry Brigade 13,14,15 and 18 Battalions 3 Squadron 4 Armoured Regiment HQ6 Lwowska Infantry Brigade 15 Poznaski Recce Regiment (Dismounted) Carpathian Lancers Regiment (Dismounted) Division Reserve 16, 17 Battalion
1946 At the time of its demobilisation in 1946, the 2nd Polish Corps establishment was as follows (note that there were some differences between this order of battle and the one at the time of the battle for Monte Cassino in 1944):
Polish 3rd Carpathian Infantry Division CO: Maj. Gen. Bronisław Duch 1st Carpathian Rifle Brigade 1st Carpathian Rifle Battalion 2nd Carpathian Rifle Battalion 3rd Carpathian Rifle Battalion 2nd Carpathian Rifle Brigade 4th Carpathian Rifle Battalion 5th Carpathian Rifle Battalion 6th Carpathian Rifle Battalion 3rd Carpathian Rifle Brigade 7th Carpathian Rifle Battalion 8th Carpathian Rifle Battalion 9th "Boloński" Carpathian Rifle Battalion (Named for liberating Bologna) Other Divisional Units 7th Lubelski Uhlan Regiment (Divisional Reconnaissance) 1st Carpathian Light Artillery Regiment 2nd Carpathian Light Artillery Regiment 3rd Carpathian Light Artillery Regiment 3rd Carpathian Anti-tank Regiment 3rd Light Anti-aircraft Regiment 3rd Heavy Machine Gun Battalion 3rd Carpathian Sapper (Engineer) Battalion 1st Carpathian Field Engineer Company 2nd Carpathian Field Engineer Company 3rd Carpathian Field Engineer Company 3rd Carpathian Field Park Company 3rd Carpathian Signals Battalion
5th Kresowa Infantry Division CO: Brig. Gen. Nikodem Sulik 4th Wolyńska Infantry Brigade 10th Wolyńska Rifle Battalion 11th Wolyńska Rifle Battalion 12th Wolyńska Rifle Battalion 5th Wilno Infantry Brigade 13th Wilenski Rifle Battalion "Rysiow" 14th Wilenski Rifle Battalion "Zbikow"